Getting Ready

~Nikki~

I swear I couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day. I kept thinking back to Paul being at the clinic with me, and then my mind went to dinner tonight. Why did I agree to have dinner with him? It’s probably one of the dumbest choices I’ve ever made. I sigh and get out of the shower. 

I wipe a part of the mirror clear so I can see myself. I look haggard, feeling like an old woman. I have no idea what I’m doing right now. Am I trying to….to date?! I must be going crazy if I think I’m going to date with three grown daughters. Not just date, but date the former Alpha! I’m officially off my rocker, for sure. 

Oh, stop, Nikki. You still look as good as the day we finished puberty. As good as we did before the pups. You need to go and show Paul the woman you are and let him show you that he’s a man. Wear something slutty. I roll my eyes but say nothing. Aluma and I have been back and forth about this since I stupidly accepted his dinner invite. She sees nothing wrong with this, yet I can’t say that I agree.

I step into my room with my towel wrapped around my body. I have to find something to wear, and I have no idea what it should be. Maybe I should put on some sweats. That way, this can’t be misconstrued as anything more than two friends sharing a meal.

The hell do you mean?! You had better put something cute on, or I’ll take over and dress us ourselves!

STUFF IT! A knock on my door jolts me out of my conversation. I have no idea who this could be because I’m supposed to meet Paul at his place. I open the door to the smiling face of my beautiful Tia. “Hey, baby girl.”

“Hi Mom; how was your day?” She kisses me on the cheek and walks into the room, getting comfy on my bed.

“It was good. Not too busy.” I go into the closet to find something that will work for dinner.

“I heard you had a visitor in the clinic.” My heart rate increases, and I pop my head out of the closet. Tia is sitting on the bed, engrossed in her phone. I go back and continue to flip through my clothes.

“A visitor? What do you mean?”

“You spent the day with former Alpha Paul, right?” I swear no secrets can be kept in a pack. I’m not going to say it was a secret, exactly, but still, it wasn’t supposed to be common knowledge.

“I wouldn’t say we spent the day together. He came to see how the clinic works.” Tia snorts, which makes sense because my explanation sounds as fake as it is. I walk out of the closet with a long, flowy dress. Tia looks up from her phone and just stares at me. Her gaze starts to make me uncomfortable after a while. I check myself out in the mirror with the dress on; not sure if it’s going to work for tonight.

“Mom, I’m not a kid anymore. You can talk to me about things.” 

“I don’t know what you mean by that.” Tia gets off the bed and walks over to me. She looks at me through the mirror and checks my dress by resizing it with her hands, cinching it here and there.

“Are you going somewhere tonight?”

“I…uh…..I have dinner plans.” I look into the mirror to find Tia staring at me with a smirk. 

“You can’t wear this to dinner with Paul.” I avert my gaze, and I swear Tia chuckles.

“Paul? What in the world are you talking about? Why would you bring up Paul?” Tia sighs and steps back, crossing her arms across her chest. 

“Oh, mom, stop it. As if it wasn’t obvious to the world that you two are into each other. The way you looked at each other at breakfast yesterday was too cute.” Ah hell! Does this mean everyone saw me looking at Paul like some hormonal teenager? I could die of embarrassment.

“I….I….” I sigh and walk to the bed, plopping down. “This is crazy! He’s not interested in me. He’s a former Alpha that could have anyone. He may have a second chance mate out there and when he meets her, well….you know. You are mated to his sons! How would that look?” Tia grabs my hand and holds it to her chest.

“Mom…..you are worrying too much. There is no reason to think of those things. If you like him, you should go for it. You deserve to be happy.”

“And what about you and your mates?”

“What about them?” Tia sighs and sits next to me. “I know adjustments will need to be made, but I’m sure we can get that done. The twins just want their dad to be happy, just like I want to see you happy. Everyone will support you on this.” I shake my head and go back to the mirror.

“I don’t even know why I’m worried about it. There is no way he’s looking at me like anything other than a pack member.” Tia throws her head back and laughs.

“You have to be crazy if you don’t see how much he likes you. The way he looks at you speaks volumes.” I say nothing but feel butterflies in my stomach. I guess the hope is enough to get me going. "I do have some bad news, though.” I look at Tia, wondering what her bad news could be. “You absolutely can’t wear that to dinner with Paul. You look like an old-aged woman.” Tia goes to the closet and starts shuffling through the clothes. “We really have to take you shopping.” 

I start to see outfits fly out of the closet. Tia is tossing things here and there, and I wonder just who, exactly, is meant to clean all this up. Tia walks out of the closet with a hanger in her hand, and my eyes get big. She has to be joking right now. There’s no way she thinks I should wear this dress. What message would it send to Paul? I start to shake my head and walk toward my closet before I’m pulled back. “Mom, please just trust me.” I close my eyes and must have nodded because Tia starts to grab me and take me through the process of getting beautiful. 

Tia is waiting on my bed while I take care of some fine details in the bathroom. I have no idea if this dress is the best idea, but there’s no way I can make it out of here if I don’t wear it. I walk out of the bathroom with zero confidence and try to think of what I can wear over this or instead. “Stunning, mom, just stunning. Paul won’t know what hit him when he sees you.”